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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28285866">Evermore</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/threeofswords/pseuds/threeofswords'>threeofswords</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alexis | Quackity Angst, Alexis | Quackity Deserves Better, Alexis | Quackity Needs a Hug, Angst, Canon Relationships, Depressed Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Jschlatt Angst (Video Blogging RPF), M/M, Morally Ambiguous Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Sad Alexis | Quackity, Unrequited Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:26:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28285866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/threeofswords/pseuds/threeofswords</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The deterioration of a relationship in fifteen parts.</p><p>Or</p><p>A series of writings each based on a song from the album Evermore.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexis | Quackity/Jschlatt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. cowboy like me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Quackity had first met Schlatt not long before he was banned. Their exchanges had been brief and infrequent and only very few times they had actually been alone but that was all it took for Quackity to fall for him completely.</p><p>Stolen glances that made his heart flutter, playful flirting that seemed to only partly be a joke, soft brushes against his hand or his arm. It hadn’t been difficult. Schlatt possessed a charm he had never seen in anyone before. The way he carried himself with such casual confidence as if he knew that the moment he opened his mouth to speak, everyone would stop to listen. He was in total control of every situation he was in and yet he played it as though it was not a big deal to him at all. Quackity was utterly enamoured by the commanding man who merely allowed him to grace his presence.</p><p>As time passed, their encounters grew more friendly, more intimate. He would be the first person Schlatt looked to after telling a joke, the one his eyes scanned for in a crowded room, the one he took the seat next to at dinners and meetings. Soon enough, Schlatt began inviting him to drink with him.</p><p>Those evenings were always pleasant, always enjoyable. Four or five of them sitting in Schlatt’s sophisticatedly decorated living room sipping whiskey and wine deep into the night - though Schlatt himself never drank much, stating he preferred to remain in control of his body than throw his inhibitions out the window and act on whatever stupid impulses may arise throughout the evening.</p><p>That being said, it had been one of those nights when Quackity had managed to convince him to have one or two more than his usual. When Fundy and Sapnap had drunk themselves to sleep on the velvet couches. When Schlatt had moved to sit closer to him, raised a hand to cup his face and leaned in to capture his lips in a slow, gentle kiss.</p><p>The following morning, Dream arrived at the door to inform Schlatt of his eviction and banishment from the nation.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://warehouse.carrd.co/#">MCYT shipping Discord Server</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. long story short</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Several months passed before Schlatt got the call from Wilbur informing him that the banishment had ended and requesting his endorsement of his friend's presidential campaign. A smile spread across Schlatt's face as already, ideas began to formulate in his head.</p><p>He had lost everything in the exile, forced to restart his life in a place where no one knew his name. The one thing he truly missed was the respect he had garnered in the Dream SMP. </p><p>Seconds after the call ended, he began packing to leave the shitty apartment he had been living in, throwing his few belongings into a bag. The space starkly contrasted his old house with its expensive wallpapers, classy furniture and lavish decoration; the apartment was dull and uninspiring. He hadn't taken the time to improve it, never anticipating staying long enough to warrant doing so. </p><p>Reaching into his closet, he pulled out a garment bag containing an expensive three-piece suit which had remained untouched since he'd left. He dressed himself, fitting a red tie around his neck and admiring his appearance in the mirror. </p><p> </p><p>Just as he had expected, he was welcomed back with veneration; old friends delighted to see him and new people eager to meet the man they had heard so many stories about. As he flashed smiles and shook hands he found himself scanning faces, searching for one particular person. Finally, as Quackity removed his dark sunglasses, their eyes met. Wide grins appeared on each of their faces as months of separation came to an end.</p><p>Schlatt walked straight to him and clasped his outstretched hand - his left hand, Quackity always remembered he was left-handed - before pulling him into a warm embrace. Quackity was dressed in a similar way to him; his suit was slightly cheaper and missing a waistcoat and his tie was blue instead of red but Schlatt remarked that he looked good nonetheless. Upon enquiring as to why he was wearing this, Schlatt learned that Quackity was Wilbur's opposition in the presidential race - something which he hadn't previously known and something which he believed would make his plan work even smoother.</p><p>They continued to the stage where Wilbur was waiting with a friendly expression. He approached the podium and made the first move towards regaining everything that had been so cruelly taken from him. </p><p>Step 1: announce his campaign. What better way to gain power than to become the president? However, he knew it wouldn't be so simple as to just show up and put his name on the ballot.</p><p>Step 2: form a coalition with one of the key parties. Schlatt wasn't an idiot - he had been absent for months and he knew he wouldn't be able to garner the necessary votes on his own in such a short space of time. He decided his best option was to convince Wilbur or whoever his opponent may be to pool their votes and in return grant him a high ranking position in the cabinet, if not the president. Wilbur held true passion for his cause and so joining with his party was the last resort. The news that Quackity was the other option was music to his ears. </p><p>Sweet, lovely Quackity whose heart skipped a bit if they so much as made eye contact. It wasn't that Schlatt was preying on his affection, it was no secret that these affections were not unrequited, but rather that he was evaluating his options and selecting the one with lower effort and higher efficiency. He was a businessman, doing business. </p><p>The next stage came two days later.</p><p>Step 3: eliminate his competition and consolidate power. It was a shame it had to happen that way - Wilbur was a good guy - but there was nothing else to be done. Schlatt was back on top, his new vice president by his side, and he intended to stay there.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://warehouse.carrd.co/#">MCYT shipping Discord Server</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. ivy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A comfortable silence filled the master bedroom of the Whitehouse. No words were needed as Quackity’s head rested on Schlatt’s chest, his lover holding him with a gentle tenderness that he had ached for for so long. The thumb of a strong hand rubbed small circles on his shoulder in time with their slow breathing.</p><p>Schlatt moved to softly caress Quackity's cheek and tilted his head up with his index finger. Each gazed fondly into the other's eyes as if reading declarations of love engraved on their very souls. </p><p>"I don't know where I'd be without you," Schlatt spoke with adoration, his tender gaze never drifting from his lover's deep, brown eyes, "You mean so much to me, Alex." A smile graced his lips at the use of his real name.</p><p>"I know." He tilted his head allowing their lips to connect in a sweet, passionate kiss. "It's like you complete me," he said after they parted, "like I wouldn't survive if we weren't together. You're a part of me."</p><p>"And you, me, my darling."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://warehouse.carrd.co/#">MCYT shipping Discord Server</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. gold rush</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Schlatt had always seemed perfect to Quackity. It was his looks, his charisma, his humour, utterly perfect. </p><p>It was the way he slammed his hand down on the podium to enunciate the points in his speech.</p><p>It was the way he had rehearsed his lines for him before they went to sleep the previous night, Quackity laying in the bed watching as Schlatt paced backwards and forwards dramatically reciting the words he had spent the day preparing. How every so often, after what he believed to be a particularly good line he would pause, glance at Quackity who would nod in eager approval, then continue. </p><p>It was when he asked "So, what do you think?" with a proud smile upon reaching the end.</p><p>"So good, babe," Quackity had replied, offering an applause as his beloved climbed into bed next to him, "everyone's gonna love it. They love you." </p><p>It was how Schlatt kissed his forehead before wrapping his arms around him and pulling him against his chest. </p><p>It was the way he looked proudly out over his nation as he finished addressing the citizens and later through the wide window in his office, a glass of whiskey in hand.</p><p>He turned and smiled when Quackity pushed open the door before moving over to a cabinet and pouring a drink for the other man. They stood side by side, gazing at their country.</p><p>"The speech went well," Quackity remarked, swirling his drink but not yet taking a sip.</p><p>"As you said it would, my darling." He moved his head to look at the younger man and raised his glass.</p><p>"To us," Quackity said, copying the other's motion.</p><p>"To us," he repeated and, fixing his gaze back on the view out of the window, "and to Manberg." He finished his drink in one.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://warehouse.carrd.co/#">MCYT shipping Discord Server</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. willow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I love you."</p><p>Three words. Three simple words that meant more than they could ever describe. </p><p>They were a confession. Not only to Schlatt but to himself. Love had always seemed like such a strong word, something you only say when you are absolutely sure. He hadn't realised he was that sure but once he said it he knew it felt right. </p><p>They were a promise. To follow Schlatt to the ends of the earth. To smile when he wants him to smile. To do anything for him so long as he still loves him.</p><p>They were a confirmation. In Schlatt's eyes, the words meant loyalty. Validation of what he already believed, that he truly meant everything to Quackity. They meant he would stand by his side through thick and thin and support him no matter what. They were all he needed to hear.</p><p>Schlatt's face contorted into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Placing his half-empty glass of wine on the desk, he brought his hands up to cup the other's face, kissing him. Quackity couldn't help but think that this kiss was different from any other they had shared and not in the way he had expected it would be after what he just said. It lacked passion, romance, and love of any kind - Schlatt hardly even moved against him. He parted his eyelids very slightly only to be met by Schlatt's deep brown eyes gazing right back at him. He pulled away slowly, a strange, almost instinctual, feeling beginning to build in the pit of his stomach. The hollow smile returned.</p><p>Then, two words.</p><p>"I know."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://warehouse.carrd.co/#">MCYT shipping Discord Server</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. dorothea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Schlatt had been working a lot more recently. It made sense; he was the president, after all. He had paperwork and responsibilities and stuff. His people needed him. The country was more important than just one guy, Quackity told himself. More important than just him. </p><p>It wasn’t as if Schlatt never spent any time with him; they worked together so he saw him in the day. They shared a bed, though Schlatt had started staying later in his office - some nights despite his trying to wait up, Quackity would fall asleep before he came back. Some nights he didn't come back at all.</p><p>Quackity couldn't help but feel that in his pursuit of power, Schlatt was beginning to leave him behind. He focused his attention on work and the country and it seemed that, when the day ended, there was no time left to spend with him. </p><p>And now there was this big festival to be planned. More work, less time. </p><p>As Quackity lay alone staring blankly at the ceiling, his hand stretched out and softly touching the fabric of the cold side of the bed, he realised just how much he missed his husband; the man seemed so close to him and yet he was always out of reach. Schlatt so often occupied his thoughts; it made him wonder how often the other man thought about him. </p><p>He gasped lightly, initially surprised by the feeling of hot tears slipping down the sides of his face, but quickly gave in, allowing himself to be consumed by sobs. There was nothing he wanted more than a shoulder to cry on. Strong but gentle hands rubbing soothing circles into his back and stroking his hair. Sweet words of comfort and validation whispered into his ear. </p><p>And yet, despite his wishes, he cried alone. Alone in the bed and so lonely in his heart.</p><p>When the sobs began to calm, not entirely gone but far less frequent, he rolled over onto his side, back to the empty space where his lover should have been, and curled up as tight as he could. Slowly, he felt himself being pulled down into the darkness of sleep and allowed his consciousness to slip away.</p><p>The sound of someone clattering in the hallway caused him to wake sharply God-knows-how-long later. He didn't move or even open his eyes, brain already connecting the dots and figuring out what had caused the disturbance. The bedroom door was pushed open with a creak and unsteady footsteps could be heard making their way into the room. Shoes were kicked off, hitting the walls and thudding to the floor and a shuffle, presumably a jacket being shrugged off and dropped, followed. </p><p>A weight pressed down on the other side of the bed and even then, Quackity didn't move. The other man, still wearing his dress pants and shirt, dragged himself closer, wrapped his arms around the younger's torso and tangled their legs together, using his foot to slowly stroke up and down his partner's calf. His nose nuzzled against the smaller man's back as he buried his face in his neck.</p><p>He was freezing cold. His hands felt like ice against Quackity's stomach, seemingly sapping any heat out of the skin in an instant. The lips which pressed soft kisses against his shoulder blades left a frost in their wake. </p><p>A sad smile tugged at the corners of the younger man's mouth. The affection was hollow. It was empty. It was meaningless.</p><p>Schlatt was cold. He wanted Quackity to warm him up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>
  <a href="https://warehouse.carrd.co/#">MCYT shipping Discord Server</a>
</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. evermore</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>// vomiting</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I used to be great," his words were slurred. The glow from the moon was all that lit the office where he sat, alone, as usual. He took a long drink straight from the bottle which was then discarded, empty, on the floor with the others. A pile of failure at his feet. "What happened." </p><p>He slumped forward, forehead resting on the rich wood of his desk, and shut his eyes. What happened? Everything had been going so well. His position, his plans, his country; he couldn't have asked for more. Where did it go so wrong?</p><p>The question repeated itself in his mind over and over, the air in the room suddenly becoming stifling. He sat up hastily loosening his tie and undoing the top button of his shirt. His face was flushed and hot and he couldn't breathe. He was suffocating and panicking and he couldn't breathe and the more he tried the harder it got and he gasped and gulped but no air was going in. He couldn't breathe. He had to breathe. He was going to die. </p><p>He stood up, head fuzzy and swaying slightly from the sudden movement. Unstable footsteps led him over to the imposing French doors on the back wall of his office and his hands shook violently as he fumbled with the key. Eventually, the lock clicked and the doors were thrown open. The fresh cold of the outside flooded into the room and, with it, a wave of relief. </p><p>He stepped out onto the balcony, uncaring of the goosebumps which immediately covered his skin, and rushed to the railing. Leaning over, he coughed and vomited, the choices he had made that night coming back to bite him. He wiped the sleeve of his jacket over his mouth and stumbled backwards, slumping against the cold brick wall.</p><p>Bitter air filled his lungs and his exhales danced in front of his face, fading quickly. His eyes stared, unfocused, straight ahead into the dark. His beautiful country, clearly worth nothing to him if would spend his evenings like this. He asked himself again, where did it go wrong?</p><p>Hazy memories of the last few months played in his mind. Visions of triumph, victory, cheering crowds and smiling faces. One face that he always looked for. One smile that could light up a room and start a fire in his heart. It was too long since he'd seen that smile and he knew it was his fault. His heart ached at the thought, an unrelenting pain that he seemed to carry with him every day.</p><p>He missed him. </p><p>A shivering sigh slipped over his lips as he slowly got to his feet and made his way back inside. Fuck, it was cold. He didn't bother to close the doors as he walked through the office and into the long hallway outside. His whole body swayed and he leant against the wall to steady himself. He groaned deeply, his foot colliding with the leg of a table that displayed some artefacts of the country or whatever. </p><p>At last, he reached the door and pushed it open with a creak, glancing briefly at the outline of a person who remained fast asleep on the bed. He swung each of his legs forward sending his shoes flying into the wall, yanking off his tie as he did so. His jacket was quickly discarded on the floor and he crawled onto the bed pulling the covers over his shivering body. It was warm but not warm enough. </p><p>Turning to the side, he moved forward and, after a moment of hesitation, wrapped himself around the smaller frame. Guilt tugged at the corners of his mind as he rested his icy hands against his partner's stomach, feeling him tense up. He pressed a few soft kisses against his shoulder, hoping it would soothe him somewhat, and buried his face against his neck. The younger relaxed very slightly and a shiver ran down his spine. </p><p>His eyebrows furrowed and he frowned deeply against the other man's skin. He wished he would allow himself to do this when he was sober and when the other man was awake. He wished he could show him that he still cared, even if it was harder to do than before. He wished for that bright smile and beautiful laughter. All energy was quickly diverted to suppressing the urge to start crying again. He wished he was a better man than he was.</p><p>Quackity was warm and Schlatt was so, so cold.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://warehouse.carrd.co/#">MCYT shipping Discord Server</a>
</p><p>My <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/three0fsw0rds">Twitter</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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